Planet Hopper
Launch from orbit to orbit with one button, collecting stars as you hop from planet to planet.
Space Miner
Pilot a small mining ship through an asteroid field. Cut ore rocks apart with your beam, scoop up the chunks and meet the quota, while keeping an eye on fuel, mines and hot rocks.
Controls
| Arrows or W A S D | Thrust in that direction (the ship keeps drifting) |
|---|---|
| Hold Space | Fire the mining beam at the nearest ore asteroid in range |
| P or Esc | Pause / resume |
| R | Restart |
| Joystick | Thrust in any direction |
|---|---|
| Hold MINE | Fire the mining beam |
On touch screens a control pad appears below the game. You can show or hide it with the Touch pad button above the game.
How to Play
- Press Start Game. Ore asteroids are the brown rocks with gold or blue veins drifting around the field.
- Fly close to one and hold Space or the MINE button. The beam locks onto the nearest ore asteroid in range, and a gold ring around the rock shows how close it is to breaking. If nothing is in range, a dashed ring and a Move closer to ore message appear.
- When the rock breaks it releases ore chunks. Fly over them to collect them; chunks near your ship are pulled in. Gold nuggets count as 1 ore and blue gems as 2.
- Fuel drains all the time and much faster while you thrust. Collect F fuel cells to refill it by 35 percent.
- Avoid drifting mines and hot rocks (glowing orange rocks with a spiky heat ring). Each hit costs one of 3 hull points.
- Collect enough ore to meet the quota shown at the top to finish the level. The game ends when fuel or hull reaches 0.
Objective
Meet the ore quota on as many levels as you can. Every chunk adds its ore value to your score, and each completed level adds a bonus. Each new level raises the quota and adds hazards, so fuel and hull management matter more the further you go.
Difficulty progression
Level 1 asks for 8 ore, and each level adds 4 more to the quota. Every level starts with a fresh field of 4 ore asteroids plus more hazards: the number of drifting mines is one more than the level number (up to 9), hot rocks start at one and grow by one every two levels (up to 6), and hazards drift faster each level. Fuel drain rises slightly each level and fuel cells appear a little less often.
Scoring
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Gold nugget | +10 points (counts as 1 ore) |
| Blue gem | +25 points (counts as 2 ore) |
| Level completed | +100 × the level number |
| Fuel cell | No points, refills 35% fuel |
Your personal best is stored only in this browser. Scores are for fun and are not official records.
Tips
- Your ship keeps drifting after you let go. Tap in the opposite direction to stop instead of waiting for it to slow down.
- Park next to an ore asteroid and let go of the controls while mining. The beam does not use fuel, but thrusting drains fuel three times faster than coasting.
- Rocks with blue veins drop blue gems worth 2 ore and 25 points each, so mine those first when you have a choice.
- Break the rock, then wait a moment: chunks fly outward and slow down, and anything close to your ship is pulled in automatically.
- Watch the fuel chip. Below 25 percent a LOW FUEL warning appears; head for the nearest F cell before continuing to mine.
- Mines explode when they hit you, and a new one drifts in a few seconds later. Hot rocks stay, so learn their bounce paths and mine on the far side of the field.
Related Games
More Space Exploration Games →
Gravity Orbit
Aim, charge and launch a probe so planetary gravity bends its path into the wormhole.
Asteroid Dodge
Steer through an endless falling asteroid field and earn bonuses for daring near misses.
Space Survival
Stay alive in a deep-space arena as asteroids and drones close in. Your ship fires automatically.
Related Guides
ExplorationSpace Exploration Games GuideHow arcade exploration games turn travel, resources and discovery into short runs, with practical tactics for our exploration titles.PhysicsSpace Game Physics ExplainedAn accessible look at inertia, velocity, thrust and drag, how they work in reality, and how arcade space games simplify them to stay fun and controllable.ScoringHow Space Game Scoring WorksA breakdown of the scoring systems used in space arcade games, with the exact scoring model of each of our games and how personal bests are stored.
About Space Miner
Space Miner is a slower, more deliberate arcade game that rewards planning more than reflexes. Your ship flies with inertia, so every burst of thrust costs fuel and every stop has to be planned. The core loop is simple: find an ore asteroid, hold the beam on it until it breaks, sweep up the chunks and move to the next rock before your fuel runs low.
Pressure comes from two directions. Fuel drains constantly, so you have to fit fuel cell pickups into your route. At the same time, drifting mines and glowing hot rocks bounce around the field and damage your hull on contact. Each level raises the ore quota and adds hazards. The movement is a simplified arcade model, not a simulation of real spaceflight. Your personal best is saved locally in your browser.
Categories: Space Exploration Games, Asteroid Games. Space Miner is an original game made for Space Arcade Games. Its gameplay is arcade-style and fictional, not a scientific simulation (see our disclaimer).
Frequently Asked Questions
How close do I need to be to mine an asteroid in Space Miner?
The beam reaches about 110 pixels from the edge of an ore asteroid. If no ore asteroid is in range while you hold the button, a dashed ring and a Move closer to ore message appear around your ship.
Does the mining beam use fuel?
No. Fuel drains slowly over time and faster while you thrust. The beam itself is free, so mining while coasting is the most fuel-efficient approach.
What is the difference between gold nuggets and blue gems?
A gold nugget counts as 1 ore and is worth 10 points. A blue gem counts as 2 ore and is worth 25 points. Gems come from asteroids with blue veins.
What happens when I meet the quota?
You receive a bonus of 100 points times the level number, and a new level starts with fresh ore asteroids, a higher quota and more hazards. Your fuel and hull carry over.
Is my best score saved?
Yes. Your personal best is stored in your browser's local storage on this device. Nothing is uploaded and there is no online leaderboard.